Improvement in fruit-presses



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER METCALF, OF MITCHELL, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH HARLAN, OF

LEXINGTON, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT lN FRUIT-PRESSEQ.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,785, dated Apiil15, 1873; applitation filed December 20, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER MEroALF, of Mitchell, in the county ofLawrence and State of Indiana, have invented certain Improvements inFruit-Presses, of which the following is a specification: V

My invention relates to that class of presses intended for family orhousehold use, but is not confined to any particular size. An importantfeature consists in the method of attaching the forked piston-rod to thepiston. Draw mg.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my press on the plane ofthe line as a; in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan of the press. Fig. 3

is a sectional view of the piston, showing the The outer and innerperforated cylinders D and E' have an annular space between them for thereception of the fruit to be pressed, and a perforated piston, F, fittedto this space, serves to press out the juice. The piston F.,receives avertical motion through the medium of a forked piston-rod, G, bear: inga rack, H, on its upper extremity, which meshes with a pinion, I, on ashaft, J, said shaft having bearings in the uprights L L. A hand-wheel,M, is the medium for applying power. To keep the rack H up to thepinion, it is guided by the bearer N. To prevent the reaction of thepiston durin g the intervals of intermittent motion downward, I use aratchet, b, on the shaft J, and a pawl, c, which acts as a detent orstop. The pawl is disengaged to allow the piston to be raised.

The use of a central cylinder in the chamber necessitates forking thepiston-rod; and to render it easily detachable from the piston,

' one branch, 1?, (see Fig. 3,) is made separate,

and attached to the rod by a bolt and nut,

form of the lower extremities of the forks or branches, and thecorresponding openings in the piston for their reception, will bereadily understood from Fig. 3.

By the use of an interior perforated cylinder, which is located in thecenter of the crushed mass, an interior exit is allowed for the juice;and a similar advantage may be claimed for the perforated outer cylinderand the perforated piston. As a whole, the press presents an exceedinglylarge perforated area to the crushed mass, which is very desirable.

For the sake of perspicuity in the drawing, the perforations arerepresented larger in size and less in number than the reality.

The juice when pressed out finds it way into the vessel 0, and thencethrough the large openings in the interior cylinder down through thetube a into any desired vessel.

When it is desired to take the press apart and clean it, the piston israised to its full height and the chamber slipped from under it, theslot B permitting the passage of the tube a.

If thought necessary, the outer cylinder can be removed from its bottom,so as to be the more readily cleaned.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The inner perforated tube I), provided with a projection, a at itslower extremity, for leading off the e pressed juice to a properreceptacle, substantially as shown and de= scribed.

2. The device for attaching the piston F to therod G, consisting of adetachable branch, P, and the hooked form of both branches at theirlower extremities, substantially as shown.

3. In combination with the elements of the above-described press, theslotted base A, constructed substantially as shown,..and for thepurposes set forth.

Witness my hand this 5th day of Decem ber, 1872.

OLIVER METGALF.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. DAVIS, GEORGE L. MERGER.

